Monday, May 4, 2020

It said the killing was a "big loss" in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored militancy in the valley and said the union government must take serious note of the situation

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) on Sunday said the killing of five security forces personnel in an encounter in Kupwara district has exposed Pakistan's evil designs to disrupt peace in the Union Territory.

It said the killing was a "big loss" in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored militancy in the valley and said the union government must take serious note of the situation.

Expressing concern over the death of four Army personnel, including two officers, and a sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Handwara encounter, the party said, "Once again, the evil design of Pakistan has been exposed when the militants backed by it adopted violence to disrupt peace in Kashmir Valley."

"This (killing of the security men) is a big loss in the fight against militancy. We hope the central government will take cognizance of the matter and investigate the matter as different versions are coming out," senior party leaders said in a joint statement here.

It said even as Pakistan was facing an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the neighbouring country is still busy pushing their proxies into Kashmir Valley.

"This act must be condemned and the Union government must take serious note of the situation," the JKAP said and lauded the role of security forces in maintaining peace in the Union Territory despite the challenging situation.

In a setback, two senior army officers, including a colonel-rank officer, were among five security personnel killed during an encounter with terrorists at a village in Rajwar forests of North Kashmir, officials said Sunday.

The deceased security personnel are Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh, and Lance Naik Dinesh, all from the Brigade of GUARDS regiment, and at present part of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles, deployed to counter terrorism in the hinterland.

Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector Shakeel Qazi, also fell victim of to the bullets of terrorists.

The two holed-up terrorists, who were eliminated in the encounter, included commander of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba Haider, a Pakistani national who has been active in North Kashmir area.